BBC Radio 5 Live

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In the wake of WhatsApp's decision to share more data with Facebook users and start letting some companies send messages to users, Pamela Clark Dickson, a principal analyst at Ovum, has been talking to 5 live breakfast.  

She says the Facebook-owned company's motivation is a need to generate revenues - and allowing businesses to contact users is "probably a good way to do it".

However, it will also result in a "grey area as to what is advertising, what is marketing ... maybe some WhatsApp users will be worried that".

How do you feel about getting messages from companies (what some might call "advertising") on your smartphone? Drop me a line: bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Flaws in Apple's iOS operating system have been discovered that made it possible to install spyware on a target's device simply by getting them to click on a link.

Ahmed Mansour, the human rights lawyer who discovered the flaw, tells Today: "This is always a possibility with technology. The smarter you get, others as well find smarter techniques in intruding into your devices."

Dave Lee
North America technology reporter

Image source, Thinkstock

A botched attempt to hack the iPhone of a human rights lawyer has exposed a secretive hacking group.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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David Palmer-Jones, head of Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, is the man responsible for clearing up the rubbish after the Notting Hill Carnival.

He tells Kamal Ahmed that the recycling revolution had led to a "radical business model change" in the rubbish collection industry that has made it a "sexy" business. 

Some may say the effort of removing 300 tonnes of waste (enough to fill 25 double decker buses) after the carnival sounds anything but sexy, but each to their own and all that. 

The London blue-chip market is a mere 2 points higher at 6,819 points as trading gets underway for the last time this week.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 is 5 points lower at 17,877 points.

Despite slumping to a hefty half-year loss, shares in The Restaurant Group are up about 2.8% at 418.7p. However, the stock is still down 40% this year.

On the continent, meanwhile, the Dax and the Cac are both slightly higher.

Image source, Reuters

It's not been a great week for Dominic Chappell. As the last BHS stores still trading prepare to close their doors for the final time this week, the man who bought the retailer for £1 was also disqualified from driving for six months and fined £665 for speeding.

The former racing car driver has also claimed he was "stitched up" by former BHS owner Sir Philip Green. 

Mr Chappell tells ITV News he accepts some of the responsibility for the company's collapse, but he had also trusted Sir Philip, who he says failed to keep his word. 

"What we did wrong is we trusted a knight of the realm Sir Philip Green to stand good on his word. We were stitched up; this was a company in far worse shape than we thought. Philip did not stand good promises. He told us he would sort out the Pension Regulator, he did not. He told us he'd sort out the suppliers, he did not. The company failed because of those two issues, end of story." 

Speaking about the failure of BHS, Mr Chappell said: "Yes I must take responsibility for that, but there are other people in the fray as well and they must take some responsibility as well." 

He said he had earned £1m from BHS, but insisted his conscience was "very clear". 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Janet Yellen, the chair of the US Federal Reserve, is due to give a speech at the central bankers's shindig at Jackson Hole in Wyoming later today.

Nandini Ramakrishnan, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, tells Today: "Her signalling should be if there is going to be a rate hike this year - which we believe there will be one - and that the health of the US economy is strong enough to handle it. 

"She will be mentioning the strength of the labour market, the fact inflation numbers are picking up closer and closer to the levels of the US Federal Reserve's 2% goal and with these mentions, hopefully indicate to markets not to be surprised if there is a rate hike in December or September."

More on The Restaurant Group. Those charges on flogging 14 Frankie & Benny's sites, 11 Chiquito sites and eight others add up to a total cost of £59.1m. That has dragged the company to a pre-tax loss of £22.5m - rather worse than a profit of £38m for the first six months of last year.

And again hats off to the company for self-flagellation: 

"We have lost value-conscious customers, a result of significant price increases and the removal of popular value offers. Above market increases in food and beverage pricing in 2013 and 2014 were compounded in 2015 by a reduction in value offers and the removal of a fixed price menu, actions which significantly reduced covers.

"In 2015, we began to introduce more 'authentic' menus without sufficient testing of the concept. This led to the removal of many popular dishes from the menus and led to a further decline in covers. The absence of leadership for this key brand in the past two years resulted in weaker operating discipline and therefore an inconsistent and unsatisfactory service experience for many of our customers."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Theresa May has arrived back from holiday to a bulging in-tray - not least what's she going to do about Hinkley Point C.

Paul Massara, co-author of a new report questioning the need for the £18bn nuclear project, tells Today that the UK needs a more "flexible" approach that "includes things like demand-side management, which means people can turn down their electricity demand and manage their demand, with smart meters and batteries which are going to come in the next five to six years".

Dr Craig Lowrey, a consultant for the Utilities Exchange, an independent energy consultancy, says he sees nuclear power as being part of the future energy mix, but he agrees the industry is in a "transitional phase" and it is inevitable that questions about Hinkley Point C will be asked. 

Image source, TRG

Chiquito and Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group says it will sell 33 underperforming sites, external and take a charge of almost £40m. The value of a further 29 sites have been written down at a charge of £17.8m.

In an unusually frank statement, the company admits that the performance of Frankie & Benny's has "suffered due to insufficient focus on value, unsuccessful menu development and poor operational execution".

"Increased competition has had some impact but is not the major factor behind the weak performance," it adds.

Debbie Hewitt, chairman, says the first half had been a "challenging trading period". 

Image source, EPA

The vice-chairman of South Korea's troubled Lotte Group was found dead on Friday, police said, in an apparent suicide amid a widening corruption probe into one of the country's largest business conglomerates.

The body of Lee In-Won, 69, was found hanging from a tree near a hiking trail in the eastern town of Yangpyeong. A four-page letter - apparently a suicide note - was found in his car, expressing loyalty to the group's chairman Shin Dong-Bin and denying allegations that the firm had avoided huge sums of tax and created slush funds. 

Lee - who had worked for Lotts since 1973 - was a key suspect in an alleged tax evasion scam worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 

An official probe into the retail and hotel giant widened in June when prosecutors raided the offices of 15 subsidiaries, before issuing summons to a number of executives. 

In South Korea, it is not unusual for a high-profile suspect to commit suicide when he is the subject of an investigation.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA

Yet more questions about the future of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

The think tank, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), has published a report, external saying it is "not essential" for the UK to meet its energy and climate change targets. 

One of its authors, former npower chief executive Paul Massara - who now runs North Star Solar - says: "You are looking at a deal which is two and half times the current price, it goes on for 35 years and effectively this report today shows we can transition to a low carbon, affordable secure option without Hinkley and that's what we should be doing."

The report recommends "established" approaches that it reckons will save customers £1bn a year. 

Iran's oil minister  Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says Tehran will cooperate with Opec to stabilise the world market, but "expects others to respect its natural rights".  

His comments come as the oil producers' cartel tries to reach agreement on a plan to freeze outlet to support prices.

Andreas Illmer
Business reporter in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.5% after new figures showed that inflation remains way below the central bank's 2% target. For July it fell for the fifth consecutive month, down 0.5% compared to a year earlier. 

Australia's ASX 200 was also lower, down by 0.4%, while South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.2%. 

Chinese markets fared better though with the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.5%. 

BBC Radio 5 Live

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You might recall that the Investor Forum has called for a review of corporate governance at Mike Ashley's Sports Direct. 

Oliver Parry of the Institute of Directors has been talking about his concerns on Wake Up to Money.

They centre on the length of time the non-executive directors have been on the board - and the fact the controlling shareholder (Mr Ashley, who holds a 51% stake) also sits on the board.   

While the Investor Forum and institutional investors such as Legal & General are now voicing their concerns about the way Sports Direct is run, Mr Parry says it has been an issue for the IoD for more than two years. 

In that time Mr Ashley has not made any changes despite mounting pressure about its treatment of workers - particularly at the huge Shirebrook warehouse in Derbyshire.

The company said yesterday it will hold an "open day" to coincide with its annual meeting on 7 September.

BBC Breakfast

Business presenter Ben Thompson has his sailing cap on today.

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

With many people firmly focused on the long weekend that is about to start, could this be the quietest day of the year for business news? Given that very few companies are due to report results today, I fear that could be the case.

However, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is speaking later today at the Jackson Hole central banker shindig, so that is something to look forward to at least.

In the meantime we shall do our best at Business Live Towers to keep you both informed and entertained.

Any thoughts? Drop me a line at bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk or follow me on Twitter: @cajuk , external